Successful Admission as a Full Member of the UN International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems on the 19th
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] South Korea has become an official member of a related United Nations (UN) organization ahead of developing its Korean-style satellite navigation system.
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 20th that South Korea officially joined the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG) as a member country through a follow-up meeting after the 15th UN ICG annual meeting.
This committee is an intergovernmental committee under the UN in the field of satellite navigation, established in 2005 to promote the utilization of satellite navigation technology. It holds annual meetings in the second half of each year to conduct consultations and coordination among member countries regarding signals, services, dissemination, utilization, and performance improvement of satellite navigation systems. The committee includes 12 member countries such as the United States, Russia, China, India, the European Union (EU), and Japan, which possess or are developing satellite navigation systems or satellite-based augmentation systems, along with 12 associate members and 8 observer organizations.
South Korea is also promoting the development of the Korean Positioning System (KPS), which provides ultra-precise positioning, navigation, and timing information services as infrastructure for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It passed the preliminary feasibility study in June this year and will begin development from 2022.
To smoothly utilize KPS in the Korean Peninsula region, coexistence and interoperability between KPS and existing satellite navigation systems must be secured. For this purpose, bilateral and multilateral cooperation with countries possessing satellite navigation systems regarding signals, frequencies, services, and technology development has been raised as necessary from the development stage.
The government has been promoting South Korea's membership in the ICG to secure channels for bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the satellite navigation field. At the 15th annual meeting held in Vienna, Austria, from the 27th of last month to the 1st of this month, South Korea delivered a statement on its satellite navigation activities and ICG membership and presented the progress of KPS and KASS (Korean Augmentation Satellite System, led by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport). Subsequently, at the follow-up meeting held via video conference on the 19th of this month, South Korea's membership was discussed and finalized.
Shin Jae-sik, Director of the Large-scale Public Research Policy Division at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "South Korea plans to conduct close cooperation with existing satellite navigation system countries and ICG member countries, and based on this, it is expected that the development of KPS can proceed smoothly." He added, "KPS is an essential infrastructure for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and through UN ICG activities and cooperation with member countries, it can be successfully developed in the future."
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